Santa Monica College, founded in 1929 with just 153 students, is on a 38-acre main campus less than two miles from the Pacific Ocean and several nearby satellite campuses. The college is among the leaders of the state's community colleges in transferring students to the University of California, University of Southern California and other universities. The college prepares students for careers in the fields as accounting, nursing, cloud computing, interaction design, early childhood education, and business. The campus includes computer labs, athletic facilities, performing and visual arts spaces and active student clubs. The college’s facilities have won numerous architectural and sustainability awards.
Accreditation
SMC is accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC), one of seven regional accrediting organizations in the United States. Please visit our Accreditation page for more information.
Enrollment
SMC enrolled 41,160 credit and noncredit unique students in 203,275 course enrollments in academic year 2020-2021. In Spring 2021, SMC enrolled 27,436 students in 73,995 course enrollments.
In Spring 2021, 60% were enrolled part-time (0.5 to 11.5 units), 30% were enrolled full-time (12 or more units), and 11% were noncredit students.
Demographics
Spring 2021 Student Ethnicity/Race
|
ETHNICITY/RACE |
% of SMC Population spring 2021 |
|---|---|
|
Asian |
9% |
| Black/African American | 8% |
|
Latinx/Hispanic |
37% |
|
Native American/Alaskan Native |
<1% |
|
Pacific Islander |
<1% |
|
Two or More Races |
5% |
|
White |
32% |
|
Unreported |
10% |
Spring 2021 Student Gender
|
gender |
% of SMC Population spring 2021 |
|---|---|
|
Female |
58% |
|
Male |
40% |
Spring 2021 Student Residence Status
|
RESIDENt of... |
% of SMC Population spring 2021 |
|---|---|
|
California |
86% |
|
Foreign Country (International) |
7% |
|
Out-of-State |
7% |
Achievement
Fall 2020 to Spring 2021 Retention Rate: 70%*
Credit Course Success Rates Spring 2021: 84%**
|
AWARD TYPE |
AWARDED 2019-2020 |
|---|---|
|
ASSOCIATE DEGREES |
3,737 |
|
BACHELOR'S DEGREES |
15 |
|
CERTIFICATE OF ACHIEVEMENTS |
4,893 |
NOTES
*Percentage of all enrolled (credit and non-credit) students in Fall 2020 who enrolled in at least one course in Spring 2021
**Percentage of C or better grades earned (Numerator: A, B, C, P; Denominator: A, B, C, D, F, I, NP, P, W). Approximately 16% of the grades earned were EW (excused withdrawals) which are not included in the calculation. EW grades are granted to students who need to withdraw from one of more courses due to specific events (for example, the COVID-19 pandemic) beyond the control of the students that affect the student's ability to complete the course(s).